IPO Watch Europe - Q1 2005

May 2005

This is our quarterly survey tracking the volume and value of IPOs on Europe's main stock exchanges.

Compiled by our London Capital Markets Group, it surveys all new primary market listings on Europe's principal stock markets and market segments, including exchanges in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.

Highlights from Q1 2005

• Europe's IPO markets enjoyed a good start to 2005 with volumes significantly up over the first quarter in 2004, mainly driven by activity on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM)
  
• Europe continues to outperform the US markets in volume terms, although average offering value per IPO remains lower
  US markets only attracted two foreign listings compared with 20 in Europe as companies continue to assess the costs of complying with Sarbanes- Oxley
  
• The pipeline for the rest of 2005 and early 2006 is particularly strong and we expect 2005 to be another active year for Europe's IPO market, assuming equity markets hold up
  
• There remains some risk of delays around the introduction of new capital market regulation in Europe on 1 July 2005

For a full analysis, please click the download below for the data table, or read the news release